The European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials

The European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials is a stakeholder platform that brings together representatives from industry, public services, academia and NGOs. Its mission is to provide high-level guidance to the European Commission, Members States and private actors on innovative approaches to the challenges related to raw materials.

The EIP plays a central role in the EU's raw materials policy framework:

- It reinforces the Raw Materials Initiative by translating the strategic policy framework into concrete actions and by mobilising the stakeholder community to implement them;- It has been instrumental in securing R&I funding: while Framework Programme 7 (the R&I funding tool for the period 2007-2013) only included approximately €180 million for raw materials R&I, Horizon 2020 (the R&I funding tool for 2014-2020) reserved €600 million for research on the challenges related to raw materials.

The European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) are a new approach to EU research and innovation. By bringing together actors from the entire research and innovation value chain they aim at streamlining efforts and accelerating market take-up of innovations that address key challenges for Europe.

The EIP on Raw Materials' aim is to help raise industry's contribution to the EU GDP to around 20% by 2020. It will also play an important role in meeting the objectives of the European Commission flagship initiatives ‘Innovation Union’ and ‘Resource Efficient Europe’. It will do this by ensuring the sustainable supply of raw materials to the European economy whilst increasing benefits for society as a whole.

The EIP targets non-energy, non-agricultural raw materials. Many of these are vital inputs for innovative technologies and offer environmentally-friendly, clean-technology applications. They are also essential for the manufacture of the new and innovative products required by our modern society, such as batteries for electric cars, photovoltaic systems and devices for wind turbines. With about 30 million EU jobs depending on the availability of raw materials the EIP will have a clear, positive impact on European industrial competitiveness,

The EIP's Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) set out specific objectives and targets. Actions to achieve these include research and development, addressing policy framework conditions, disseminating best practices, gathering knowledge and fostering international cooperation.